Whether you enjoy fine dining, love fast food, or enjoy a visit to a Chinese lunch buffet, dining out can be enjoyable. But restaurants are busy places with multiple moving parts, and slip and fall accidents in a restaurant can unfortunately happen.
Restaurant employees work hard to make the restaurant safe but something is occasionally missed, leading to a slip-and-fall accident for a patron. Employees are not immune either and they too can slip and fall while at work.
Premises Liability In West Virginia
This is the area of personal injury law that deals with accidents that happen on someone else’s property. Slip and falls in a restaurant can be caused by:
• Torn carpet or rugs
• Damaged or loose floorboards
• Slick or wet floors
• Uneven floors
• Clutter in walkways
• Cracks in the sidewalk or parking lot
• Loose or broken stairs or handrails
• Poor lighting that prevents you from seeing the hazard
Property owners and business owners who rent their restaurant space are responsible for keeping the premises clean and maintained for the safety of patrons, employees, vendors, and others. This is called their “duty of care.” Those who fail to uphold the duty of care may be held liable if someone slips and falls at their restaurant.
Why Restaurant Falls Are Dangerous
The amount of food and liquids toted around by wait staff can be an accident waiting to happen. If someone loses their balance or grip while serving, a large tray can turn into a wide trip hazard. Patrons may unintentionally drop food on the floor around the steam tables in a buffet-style restaurant. Insufficient lighting can make it harder to see the floor and spot the hazard.
These accidents are largely preventable. Drinks and food can cause someone to lose their balance and fall hard. Since most restaurants have concrete, tile, or other hard flooring, it doesn’t take much for even the strongest patron to fall and become injured. Carpeted floors don’t offer much cushioning against injuries like:
• Bruises and lacerations
• Broken bones, such as a fractured limb or pelvis
• Soft tissue damage, such as herniated discs and joint damage
• Skull and spinal (back) injuries
• Traumatic brain injuries
Neglecting the duty of care may lead to someone being seriously injured in a restaurant, with the business and/or property owner responsible. The duty of care may involve cleaning up a spill immediately or making needed repairs. If the owners knew or should have known but failed to remedy the hazard, they can be liable for a patron’s medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other accident-related expenses.
Restaurant Slip & Fall? Call The Love Law Firm
The Love Law Firm is a Charleston, West Virginia’s personal injury law firm with extensive experience handling slips & falls and premises liability cases. Call us today at 304-344-5683 or contact us online and schedule your free consultation. There’s no fee until we win your case, and our contingency fee arrangement means you won’t pay unless we win your case.
